You may feel called to record your life story for future generations. But you might wonder sometimes whether anyone will want to read that story. I have struggled with those same thoughts.
On the flip side, as someone who is researching my family’s history, I can assure you there will be family members in future generations that will treasure everything you share today.
As I search through genealogy records, I find myself wishing I had more details about personalities and daily life from those who came before me. I wish I had some form of connection that transcends time.
I’d like to share with you a list of things I wish I could find from earlier generations of my family. Maybe this list will encourage you to keep writing your life story. Even the smallest details are so meaningful to future generations. Don’t hesitate to share them. They will be treasured.
What I Wish I Knew about My Ancestors
Here are just a few highlights of things I wish I could read from family members who came before me:
- A glimpse of daily life including routines that might have seemed uninteresting to them but would be fascinating to me.
- A challenge they faced, big or small, and how they got through it. That would feel so encouraging to know I’m not alone in my struggles and to gain wisdom from their attitude toward their struggle.
- Their hopes and dreams for their own life and for their children and grandchildren. I would love to see if these are similar to my own in any ways. Even if our hopes and dreams are different, it would give me a window into their heart and mind.
- What would they say to me today? I often wonder if they would have enjoyed getting to know me. A letter to future generations with simple wisdom and encouragement would be so valuable.
- Did they have pets? I love animals, so I would be curious if they kept pets. Maybe they weren’t an animal lover, but did their family have a dog when they were a child? What was the dog’s name? The smallest details create connection. My father only told one humorous story about his childhood dog. But it’s a memory I treasure.
- How did technology change during their lifetime? We often think of technology as computers and spacecraft. But in centuries past, technology was any new and different way of doing something. I’d love to know what innovations happened in their lifetime and what they thought about them.
- What kind of music did they like? That helps me see a deeper side of them. If they weren’t into music, what other forms of artistic expression did they enjoy?
- What is their earliest childhood memory? Or just a few lines about something they remember from their youth. I would love to get a glimpse of who they were as a kid.
- How would they describe themselves when they were young? Not how others described them, but how they saw themselves.
- Their favorite thing to do when they were young. What activity brought them joy? What did they look forward to?
These details might seem mundane to us about our own lives. But for someone in a future generation, those details you share will help them see who you are. They will enjoy getting to know the real you and be curious to see if they share similarities with you. So keep writing! Your words will create a feeling of connection and a sense of belonging for future generations.
Audio-Visual Glimpses of Life
I would also love to see candid photos of my ancestors in everyday settings. I am thankful for their studio portraits when I can find those. At least that gives me a sense of how they looked and how much we are related! But I’d really love to see candid photos that show me what they were like in real life.
I would also like to hear their voice in an audio recording. It wouldn’t matter if they were reading their grocery list. I would just want to hear what they sounded like.
I would also love to see a home movie, even if it lasts a minute. Like the video someone took of me jumping off a two-story dock into the lake, screaming all the way down. You wouldn’t glimpse my adventurous side just by reading my resume.
My sister found a home movie of my dad when he was young, before I ever came along. He and other family members were just walking for a minute on their property, smiling and laughing. I had never encountered such a young version of my dad. I’d seen photos of when he was younger, but not animated like in a video. That was precious to me.
A cousin found an old video clip of my uncle and aunt when they were dating. The video was sweet, but the biggest surprise came at the end when my grandmother walked into the video. It was just for a moment, but it was amazing to see her smiling and straightening her son’s tie. That video clip is precious to me.
I realize audio and video are not always easy to create and upload to a family history website. If audio-visual feels daunting, don’t let that stop you from writing. Your writing is valuable by itself, and it truly is enough, I promise!
But if you ever have a chance to make a quick audio or video recording to upload, your future generations will love that too. They will just want to hear what you sound like and see you being you.
When I look through my family tree, those are the topics I wish I had more of. It wasn’t as easy for our ancestors to capture and preserve their words for future generations. Today we have so many tools available. If you are taking the time to write your life story, future generations will be so grateful you shared your life and history with them. It doesn’t need to be fancy. They just want to know you.
What’s one detail you wish you knew about an ancestor? Take a little time to write that detail about yourself for future generations to read. Add it to your life story, in whatever way you are capturing and preserving it. It will become someone’s treasure one day. It may even encourage someone today.
Exploring Generations 